Complicated You; Sophisticated Me

Dylan arrived at the apartment and headed straight to Mika's place He assumed she was asleep, but he wanted to make sure she was.

Number 26.

Dylan opened the door, and to his relief—and worry—it was unlocked. He sighed. Good thing he was the one who entered and not some random, perverted guy or something.

"Mika?" he called softly.

The room was dark and hard to see in, but he managed to find his way to Mika's bedroom, where the lampshade light was. Maybe she was already asleep.

"Mika?"

Mika didn't move.

Dylan felt his heart race. For some reason, he felt like he was trespassing—okay, he was trespassing—but it wasn't like he was planning something.

He stopped in his tracks when Mika turned.

Dylan felt like she was opening her eyes—

"Hey, it's me..."

—and she screamed.

Dylan dived forward, covered her mouth, and tried to calm her down. "It's me, Dylan. Chill."

Mika's shoulders lightened slightly, but her eyes were cold as ice. Slowly, Dylan moved his hands away and freed her mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Mika spat quickly.

"I came to check up on you," Dylan explained as he sat cross-legged on Mika's bed. "You didn't lock the door before you went to sleep, you idiot. What if some psycho enters your room?"

"That psycho already did," she rolled her eyes.

Dylan sighed. "Want me to tell you about what happened?"

"You don't have to. I don't have the right to know who you've been with and what you were doing.."

Mika averted her eyes and chewed lightly on her lip.

"I'm giving you the right," he answered.

~

Mika couldn't look at him.

"Mika, will you just look at me for a sec?" Dylan mumbled as he reached for her hand. It was as warm as usual.

Thump.

"I met Heather a while ago," he continued.

Thump.

"She was asking me about something..."

Thump.

Stop this, Mika pleaded mentally. She wanted to push Dylan away, so why couldn't she do it?

"...and she asked me if I wanted to go back with her."

Thump.

"But I declined."

Mika turned to him abruptly. "Declined?"

"I can't."

"Dylan, if you think I would get hurt if you leave, you're wrong. I could care less if you hook up with that girl."

"Mika—"

"Don't even mind me. It doesn't matter. Go to her, do whatever you want, and we'll all be happy..."

Warm. Her face felt warm and her chest was buzzing. It was painful, no matter how hard Mika denied it.

"Mika, you're crying."

"Don't be absurd," Mika hit his head with her palm before she buried herself back to the safety of her comforter. "Get away."

"I don't want to leave you."

Tears rushed out of her eyes even more. "You will."

"I won't, Mika."

She sat up abruptly and looked at Dylan straight in the eyes.

This was it—she was showing him, of all people, her weakness. She sat there, face to face with Dylan, with tears vehemently streaming down her pale cheeks.

"You will, Dylan. You will leave me someday," she said through gritted teeth. "And when that happens, I'll be the one left hurt the most..."

~

Dylan couldn't stop himself anymore.

Without thinking, he pulled Mika close to him, and wrapped his arms around her.

"...my mom said the same thing," Mika's voice came out soft and strained.

"What do you mean?"

"My mom promised she wouldn't leave no matter what happened."

Dylan closed his eyes before he spoke shortly, "Did she?"

He could feel Mika's hold tighten. Tears dropped from her eyes.

"She died a few years ago."